


Lessons

by ChevreJaune



Category: Naruto
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Team Bonding, Team Gai - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:31:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10674933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChevreJaune/pseuds/ChevreJaune
Summary: They have been taught how to make an entrance - they have been taught a dozen entrances -, but their journey to learning isn't as sudden or as flashy. And still, Team Gai learns.





	Lessons

**Lessons**

 

 

Gai never gives up on anything. Gai is never hesitant in front of a challenge. So when he first looks at his genin team, he flashes a Nice Guy pose and assures them that he would teach them great things – everything he knows that is worth knowing. Lee, sweet kid that he always was, cheers, whereas his remaining duo observes him in silent contemplation.

He explains their test and, when they all come at him in a rush, he thinks they are plenty youthful.

However, they have a lot to learn, and weapons and Jyuuken are not on his immediate program. This is the start, and it holds every possibility.

 

.

 

Lee beams when his sensei takes him apart for a short conversation. (He has not yet learned to rule in his emotions, nor to keep them hidden. Gai hopes he will not have to.)

He listens as Gai tells him that his teammates most likely wouldn’t see Lee’s true worth until he proved himself, that he would need to provide huge, constant, unwavering efforts towards that goal but to not lose faith, and...

“Why not,” Lee interrupts his teacher, puzzled. “They are both good people.” (Lee has always known how to defend his friends.)

The next day, Tenten tells Lee to give up. She is matter-of-fact when she claims Neji is just too strong for anyone, much less someone who barely made genin at all. That’s when Gai’s message gets through to Lee,  as sudden and painful as Tenten’s weapons get through opponents. The young and naive boy can’t hide the hurt from his face. (He has not yet learned to turn a challenge into a victory.)

This is the first year, and he will grow stronger.

 

.

 

In her own way, Tenten loves both her teammates, she really does.

She just doesn’t love them the same way. That, everybody who has seen Team Gai already knows. What they do not realize is that the kunoichi actually is closer to Lee. It’s simply _easier_. (She has not yet learned to fight for what she truly wants) Whenever ninja life seem a bit too much or a mission goes bad, Lee cheers her up with his crazy antics and sincere smile. She allows herself to be a youthful girl – not a killer, not a murderer - around him.

 After all, he saw her taking a life – a well-aimed kunai  to the throat, her hand never shook as she let go of the steely grip – and the way he grins at her never changed, not even for a millisecond. Gai-sensei had pulled her aside with gravity, advice and anti-nausea medicine; Neji had regarded her with sharp eyes, and a different tilt of the head. Later on, she reflected on the gesture and found it had shown respect. Lee had just blinked and hugged her, thanking her for saving his life. He made no comment about the trembling of her limbs, and she made none about his moist cheeks.

So when she wants to hang out, she usually asks Lee and it always, always thrills him.

 

.

 

Sometimes though, when she catches a glimpse of her other teammate’s solemn profile, something unfurls between her chest and her throat. The feeling is uneasy, it squeezes and expands at the same time, leaving her short on breath and dizzy. She thinks it might be a muscle memory caused by his intent eyes during their spars, when she feels like he’d kill her on the spot if she let him get too close. Or it might be because she remembers the warm feel of his palm on her skin, on one of those discrete moments when she doubted herself and he silently grabbed her wrist and shook his head to dispel her worries.

She isn’t blind. Tenten knows better than anyone that, although the genius of their team is not forthcoming, it doesn’t mean he couldn’t be. She can tell – the same as her embarrassment at Lee’s antic slowly turned into pride, Neji’s detachment is less sharp these days. Sometimes, she thinks he simply doesn’t know how to let go of his ultimate defence. Perhaps he’s like Hinata in that regard; the sideways looks he gives her and Lee when they joke around could indicate a restrained, mild kind of longing. It had stopped looking like annoyance many successful missions ago.

Sometimes she thinks of this and she knows her reasoning to be true – especially after a good training, or when Gai makes a speech that feels relevant and raw instead of exuberant and _too much_. Sometimes, she thinks it’s all just her own wishful thinking. So she doesn’t reach out. Instead, she lets Lee do it – even though she knows that Lee’s grandiose overtures are more likely to trigger a knee-jerk refusal, she is scared to make the offer herself. Scared to act silly or pushy and lose the splash of respect Neji actually has for her.

After all, she spent _years_ building up to that sliver of consideration. What’s to say all the hard work she put in wouldn’t be in vain the moment he saw her engage in one of Lee’s ridiculous challenges? Or if he decided that she was just like all the other fangirls, who preferred to get him to go out for lunch than to train until daybreak? (She has not yet learned to put herself in danger for the sake of her friends – not outside of battle and weapon clashes, at least)

 Still, sometimes she gives him an apple, or invites him out to a family dinner, but only on the days she feels she has nothing to lose.

This is the second year, and she will grow confidence before long. In the meantime, she throws weapons and tries not to read too much into the complicated thought processes of her Hyuuga teammate.

 

.

 

The Chuunin exam happens. Then the Sasuke incident happens. Afterward, as they heal, something in the team dynamic shifts, something Gai instantly recognize. He smiles.

 

.

 

Neji spots his two comrades, Lee and Tenten, the second he enters the pub.

They are hanging out at the counter, sitting on stools, legs dangling merrily. The heavy weights at Lee’s ankles muffle the sound of clashing when Tenten’s weapons laden legs hit his in jest. It’s been three hours since they dropped their mission report at the Hokage’s office, and the fatigue of his teammates is visible in the minimal slouch they sport and the pitch of their laughter.

Laughter isn’t a rare occurrence with Team Gai – it ranks in the top five along with determination, relief and embarrassment. The Hyuuga lips curl just a smudge – Lee hasn’t gotten rid of the ridiculous costume he had to wear during their mission, and Tenten seemed to not mind keeping her outrageous makeup on.

As he approaches, he hears them chatting away about some sort of island. Lee’s drinking apple juice; Tenten has a gigantic milkshake topped with whipped cream and rainbow cookies in front of her. Their voices carry far out – a deadly sin on a mission, but now that they’re home in Konoha, nobody seems to expect less from Gai’s little students. Silly idiots though they might look, Gai’s team has a reputation for being highly efficient. They can afford to look ridiculous.

Well – most of the team could. Neji was still a Hyuuga, after all.  

The thought lingers, makes Neji feel out of place. Tenten and Lee were so taken by their conversation, so animated and lively. Wouldn’t they just get silent and serious around him? Didn’t the sullen solemnity of the compound cling to his skin, contagious in its deadened formality? (He hasn’t learned to trust his instincts – nor has he learnt to trust the sincerity of well-meaning people)

His hesitation holds him back, a second of indecision that’d get him killed in the battlefield. Fortunately, he’s the most dangerous person in this place and the only people who could challenge him were the two eyesores who had invited him in the first place. He’d trust both of those idiots with his life. He had done so often enough that it had become a habit rather than just a theoretical supposition.

Tenten spots him first and waves. The cheery smile on her lips is not unusual, but the face paint makes her look a tad deranged. Neji nods. (He _has_ learned to express love, once upon a time, but he has forgotten how) The second he sits, Lee calls the waitress and orders cranberry tea, Neji’s favourite.

This is the third year, and he will still have time to grow closer to those people he considers friends.

 

.

 

They try again for Chuunin, a few months later. Temari, who is amongst the first people they recognize, looks at Tenten with unhidden disdain. Neji tenses when she mocks the weapon mistress, and Lee twitches, ready to bite back if Tenten permits it.

But their friend doesn’t even look at them, locking eyes with Temari without a hint of shame at the memory of her defeat, a year prior. She even smiles, a little secret smile that creates rather cute and nonthreatening dimples on her cheek (Neji needs to learn not to be affected by those). _You’ll see us at finals, Temari._

The whole stadium gets an eyeful of Team Gai when they all rank Chuunins. And when Tenten hugs Neji, he hugs back, a bit stiffly, but he _tries_. Lee jumps in and turns it into a group hug. Gai leaps from the crowd with a triumphant yell and soon turns it into an _embarrassing_ group hug.

Lee has grown stronger, but he still has tears in his eyes. (It doesn’t count, they’re tears of joy). Tenten has grown surer of herself, but she doesn’t think she can survive the embrace of her screaming teacher much longer (She has sacrificed her dignity more than once already for those crazy people she calls family but, come on) Neji, although he did grow friendlier, does not want to be _that_ friendly.

 

He does not think he needs a reason.

 


End file.
